The Invisible Baby
by birthdaycake-storytime-fall
Summary: This story follows on from the episode aired on 03/07/16. When Rita is in her darkest hour, with nobody who even wants to see her face, she experiences abdominal pains that turn out to be contractions. Can Rita be a parent to the baby that she didn't know she was pregnant with?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Since coming home alone Rita had managed to avoid going out to buy some alcohol, knowing that being drunk would only make her situation worse than it already was. She knew from experience that alcohol never solved anything and that it didn't help to numb the pain, it only prolonged it.

Not only was Rita experiencing a very harsh and dramatic emotional turmoil, but she was also suffering from bad abdominal cramps, they had started about an hour before her shift ended.

The cramps that Rita was experiencing were getting progressively worse, and she had taken painkillers that had proven to be ineffective.

Rita had no idea what to do. The pain was worsening every minute or so and every 4 or 5 minutes there would be a really bad pain, worse than the rest, lasting no longer than a minute.

* * *

10 minutes had passed and the pain was almost unbearable now and Rita was stuck for what to do. She didn't want to call an ambulance since she wasn't sure what was wrong and she didn't want to be taken to the ED where she worked, and where everyone now hated her, so she decided to call one of her friends instead.

Louise was the first person to come to her mind, although she hadn't forgotten the dirty look she had received from Louise in the car park a mere few hours previously. She decided to pick up the phone and try anyway; it wasn't like she had anything less to lose.

After ringing twice and getting no answer, Rita decided to try Robyn. Although Robyn was not the kind of person who easily forgave people, Rita hoped that he would at least be able to explain to Robyn what was happening and get some help.

Robyn didn't pick up either.

Rita couldn't call Iain – there was no question about that.

Could she call Connie? The two weren't friends, but as far as Rita was aware Connie knew nothing about Rita's lies. But the logical part of Rita's brain knew not to call Connie.

She'd have to call an ambulance. At least Iain and Jez were both off shift.

* * *

"This is Rita Freeman, 38 years old, severe abdominal cramps lasting a few hours, unknown cause, no loss of consciousness, pulse is a little high, resps are fine, BP is also a little high." The paramedic, Sasha, struggled to be heard over Rita's pain-filled screams.

* * *

"But how?" Rita was still in pain, although she had been given painkillers she was still wincing at the pain in her abdomen every few minutes or so and breathing on gas and air that she had been given, she was now also very scared at what the future would hold for herself.

"Rita, I don't think I need to explain to you how babies are made." Connie stood at the side of Rita's bed, not too close but not too far away, hoping that Rita was going to be able to safely deliver her baby, most likely within the next few hours.

"But…I can't be."

"Rita, you are pregnant."

 **This idea came to me pretty quickly and I thought it would make such an interesting story, since Rita currently has no-one and obviously she would need support with a baby.**

 **I'm going on holiday today and, even though there is internet access, I won't have my laptop to write or upload anything. I'll have a notebook with me and more pens than I could ever need, so I'll hand-write everything before typing it up and uploading it. I'll be back on Sunday afternoon, but it's not likely that anything will be uploaded before Monday or Tuesday.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A few hours later and Rita had given birth to a baby girl.

It had been a very stressful and exhausting few hours, both for Rita and for the maternity team who had been looking after her. Connie had just about had enough time to move Rita to the maternity ward before the labour progressed too far for her to be moved, so Rita was able to deliver her daughter away from prying eyes of the staff at the ED, especially since they had all abandoned her earlier that afternoon.

Connie had stayed with Rita throughout the birth, knowing that Rita was terrified and alone and Connie knew that no-one should feel that way, especially not when they were about to bring a new life into the world to love and care for. Connie didn't know what would happen to Rita or the baby once they were allowed to go home, but she knew that she would try to Rita as much as she could to help the new mum get used to her new life with a child.

By now almost everyone who had been on shift when Rita had been brought in knew about the baby and most had presumed, correctly, that Iain was the father, although Iain was yet to find out the news.

Rita was sat up in bed with her daughter in her arms whilst Connie watched the pair, looking to see any reaction from Rita. Rita had wanted to hold the baby, but since the little girl had been placed in Rita's arms she hadn't moved or said a single word, she had sat still watching the sleeping child in her arms. It had been 7 minutes since Rita was given the baby by a nurse.

"Rita?" Connie spoke softly, partly because she didn't want to disturb the baby, and partly because she didn't want to scare Rita too much.

Rita looked up for the first time. "Yeah?"

"Are you alright? You're not saying much." Connie stepped across the room towards the bed where Rita sat, and perched herself carefully on the edge.

"It's…I don't know…" Rita sighed. "It's just setting in really. I don't have anything for a baby, she doesn't have a father, I'm not prepared, and it just seems like everything is going really wrong for me at the moment." A tear fell down Rita's cheek and landed on her lips as she spoke. "And I hate to think that she…is wrong, but she is. She wasn't planned, or even expected."

"It'll take time. I'm happy to help with anything you need me to. I know that there's a lot of working out and thinking that you'll have to do on your own, but I'll be able to help with some things." Connie smiled at Rita, who was now rocking her daughter gently.

"I don't think I can do this on my own. I'm not sure I can do it at all."

* * *

"What are you going to call her?" A nurse came in to check on Rita and the baby, and even though Rita knew why nurses had to constantly observe the family, she was beginning to get annoyed at the amount of times she had been interrupted.

"Ruby. Ruby Isabella Freeman." It was July, meaning that the birthstone for people celebrating birthdays in this month was a ruby, so Rita thought that it would be fitting to call her daughter Ruby. Rita's mum was called Isabelle, so Ruby's middle name was a slight variation of her grandma's name.

"That's a lovely name. She's so beautiful as well." The nurse cooed over the baby before finally leaving Rita alone in the room with her sleeping baby. Connie had been called back down to the ED as a patient had been brought in with a stab wound.

Usually after a busy shift Rita just wanted to go home and sleep, but today she had finished her shift; then she had argued with Iain; then she'd been in pain for ages, and no-one wanted to help her; then she found out she was pregnant; and then she'd given birth. It felt like she just couldn't catch a break.

Tired didn't even begin to describe how Rita felt at that time, but she was putting off going to sleep because Ruby would need feeding in half an hour and Rita would feel more tired if she slept for 10 minutes than if she put off sleeping until after feeding her daughter.

It was going to be a long road for Rita, and for Ruby, and it terrified the new mum, who was still trying to work out how to break it to Iain that she had given birth to his daughter. Why did life have to be so complicated?

 **In the next chapter Iain finds out and we see his reaction, which was mentioned in a review in the previous chapter. I chose not to write the birth scene because 1) it didn't interest me, 2) loads of stories have birth scenes in them, so I feel like I've read more than enough myself and 3) I wanted to write the actual content of the mother-daughter relationship and about Rita**

 **Didn't do any writing on holiday, but I did do a lot of reading. It was a really great holiday. I also wrote basic notes out for this story and a couple of others so that I have an idea of what I'm actually writing.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Rita was still in the hospital room that she had been placed in 3 days ago after giving birth, but she was going home in just a few hours. But before she went home Rita had asked Iain to come and visit her before she left the hospital.

It was 10 in the morning when Rita was settling the baby and heard a quiet knock on the door. Looking up, she realised that Iain was stood nervously at the door peering through the window. Rita beckoned him to come in with a smile, not knowing how this meeting was going to go.

"Hi. I brought you some stuff." Iain stepped into the room with a gift bag that read 'New Baby Girl' on the front.

"Thank you, that's really thoughtful of you." Rita took the bag from Iain's hand as he offered it and placed it next to the others on her bedside table. "I'm just getting her down to sleep." Rita was stood over the hospital cot where her daughter lay, almost asleep.

Iain nodded and sat on the chair next to Rita's hospital bed whilst his daughter drifted off to sleep a few feet away from him.

Once Ruby was asleep Rita sat on the edge of her hospital bed and picked up the bag that Iain had given her a few minutes previously.

"They're not much. I didn't know what to get." Iain admitted, looking anxious as he watched Rita take out the unwrapped gifts from the bag. "And I didn't have time to wrap them.

Inside the bag there was a bar of dark chocolate, Rita's favourite; a pink baby-grow that had a picture of a white bunny on the front of it; a £20 amazon voucher; a scented candle; the receipt for the baby-grow; and a pale pink envelope. Rita opened the envelope to find a card that said 'Congratulations on your new baby girl' on the front with a cartoon picture of a peacefully sleeping baby. Rita opened the card to find a hand-written message from Iain.

' _To Rita,_

 _I know that neither of us expected to become parents any time soon, especially not together, but I am so glad that you have brought a new life into this world. You're not alone if you don't want to be. As the baby's father I want to help look after her in any way that I can, even if it's just financially. We'll talk when you're less busy, but please keep the contact between us so that I can help you if you need it. I am proud of you; not for lying, but I am willing to move on if you really are sorry._

 _Iain_

 _To the baby,_

 _Sorry, I don't know your name yet, but I did want to write you a message. Biologically I am your father; that means nothing – really. If your mother wants me to be a part of your life, then I will be your father in any and all ways that I can; that actually means something. I hope that you go on to do great things, and I hope that I am there to see them when you do. Remember than, whatever happens, I love you because I know that you're mine, even if it's just our DNA._

 _Iain_

Rita smirked at the fact Iain had written a message to the baby, even though he didn't even know her name. He really was sweet. And he was willing to forgive her; she didn't even forgive herself. "Her name is Ruby. Ruby Isabella Freeman."

Peering into the hospital cot Iain smiled a very heart-warming, genuine smile. "That's a beautiful name. I don't think I could have chosen a better one myself."

"If you really do want to be a father to her, then I'm okay with that. You could have her one or two nights a week, maybe. Or you could come over to mine to see her. Whatever works for you around your shifts. I'm taking a very long maternity leave." Rita watched Iain as he filled with love for their daughter, and she knew that she could not bring herself to keep Iain out of Ruby's life, especially since she was Iain's first born child.

"We'll work it out as we go along. Honestly, I think I'm better off visiting you; with shifts and all, I need all the sleep I can get to work properly. Is that alright?" Iain made eye contact with Rita for the first time in weeks; it felt awkward so he stopped almost immediately.

"Yes, that's fine. Like I said, I'm not going to be in work for a while anyway."

X

It had just gone 12 noon when Ruby awoke to be fed, and Iain took this as his cue to leave.

"I'll see you later, Rita. I'll call tomorrow?" Iain stood up and put his jacket on ready to get back to work, as he had taken an extra-long break to visit Rita and Ruby.

"Yeah, alright. See you later."

As Iain left the room Rita lie back on the bed with tears in her eyes and let a few tears silently fall down her face as she thought about how much she'd fucked things up recently, especially with Iain. Then she heard the door open again as her eyes shot open and saw that Iain had already come back.

"I'm sorry, I just forgot my phone." Iain stared at Rita for almost a full minute before he walked over to the bed and sat next to Rita. "Reets, what's wrong?"

"I've fucked up so much, and I'm so sorry. I won't be able to live with myself if I mess her life up too, but I'll probably be such a terrible mother." Rita cried harder than she had been allowing herself to recently as Iain took Ruby into his own arms in case Rita accidentally hurt her.

"You're only human. Everyone makes mistakes. Reets, I am so proud to call you the mother of my daughter. You've not messed up." Iain gently rocked the hungry baby in his arms, knowing that he had to give Rita a chance to cry, even if he did interrupt Ruby's meal. "I don't hate you, and neither does anyone else. It's taken a lot of thinking, but I have forgiven you enough to know why you lied and I am so proud of you for coming forward and admitting it."

"You called me…pathetic. In front of everyone!" Rita was shouting, whilst still crying, and it initially took Iain by surprise.

"I am so sorry Reets. I was angry. I am still a little angry. But I forgive you, and I need you to do me a favour." Iain placed his finger under Rita's chin and guided her face to look into his eyes.

"What?"

"I need you to forgive yourself."

X

Iain ended up staying with Rita until she had been discharged and he helped her get home with Ruby.

"I'll cook you a nice lunch." Iain offered as he placed the mountain of gift bags Rita had been given onto the dining room table, knowing that she always ate in the living room anyway.

"Really? In my house?" Rita seemed surprised. She was placing a sleeping Ruby in a Moses basket that she had been given by one of her neighbours, whose son was now almost a year old.

"Yeah, it's alright. Of course, I do expect to be allowed to help myself to a large portion as well." Iain stood in the doorway leading from the dining-room-kitchen to the living room as he watched Rita. "What do you have in? Please say pasta."

"Yeah, pasta's where it usually is. There's tomato sauce in the fridge, and cheese. Well, you already know where everything is." Rita stopped herself from talking once she realised that Iain had spent countless nights in her house, and that he had cooked for her previously.

"Okay. It'll be a little over half an hour. Do you want to have a quick nap or anything?" Iain started to prepare the food as Rita sat on the sofa and turned the TV on.

"No, I'm alright. I'll probably go to bed not long after dinner." Rita managed to find re-runs of 'Friends' on whilst flicking through the TV guide and she decided to watch a couple of episodes whilst Iain made lunch for them both.

"Friends? Really?" Iain had left the pasta to cook as he sat beside Rita.

"It's daytime telly, Iain. There's nothing else on." Rita had sat through countless hours of daytime TV during the course of her life, and she was so used to it that she was almost able to enjoy it.

"Right, whatever." Iain put his feet up on the sofa and leant away from Rita, hoping not to make her feel as if he was intruding in her home.

X

By the time the pasta had finished cooking and Iain was serving it onto plates in the kitchen, the pair had watched almost an entire episode of Friends and Ruby was awake and being fussy.

"So, what's your plan for buying baby things?" Iain asked as he brought the plates of pasta through to the living room so that he and Rita could finally eat something, as Rita had only been able to eat hospital food since giving birth.

"My next door neighbour, the one who brought over the Moses basket and a few outfits, is a good friend of mine. She has a one year old son. She's going to search through her attic tomorrow for things that I could use. I'm still in a bit of pain, so I'm not really up to a big shopping trip. I'll probably order some things online." Rita was finally able to put Ruby back in the Moses basket so that she could eat her lunch.

"Right. That sounds good." Iain and Rita ate the rest of their meals without speaking, both of them focused on the TV in front of them.

X

After Rita and Iain had eaten their meals, and shared a packed of biscuits between themselves, Iain knew that it was time to leave Rita and Ruby in peace so that Rita was able to go to sleep.

He washed up the dishes that had been used for lunch before going back through to the living room. "I'd best be off then. Call me if you need anything. I'll see you in a couple of days?"

"Yeah, sure. Thank you…for everything." Rita stood up and hugged Iain, secretly wishing that they were still together so that he had a reason to stay. "I'll see you in a couple of days."

Iain showed himself out as Rita carried the Moses basket upstairs with Ruby since so that she could be near her daughter as they slept.

As Rita placed the basket on the floor next to her bed and put her phone on the bedside table she slipped into her own bed, not needing to change out of her loose t-shirt and jogging bottoms.

"Goodnight baby girl. I love you." Rita switched off the bedside lamp and closed her eyes, hoping to sleep long enough to have enough energy to deal with her first day alone as a mother.

 **This is a lot longer than I planned it to be, but I had a few ideas that came to me as I was writing and it seemed necessary to write it this long. Hope you like it. The next chapter is baby shopping, but chapter 5 will be really exciting.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Rita woke up the next morning at 9am, after having more than 12 hours of sleep, although it had been constantly interrupted by Ruby waking up to be fed. Rita had dreamt about a baby, although she didn't remember any details about the dream, but she knew that the baby had been Ruby.

Ruby woke up once more to be fed, opening her baby blue eyes to watch her as her mother took off her t-shirt and repositioned the cup of her bra to expose the nipple to feed Ruby.

"I know that things seem wrong at the moment, mainly because they are, but they will get better, I'm going to make sure they do. You and I are going to be just fine." Rita spoke to the baby, who wasn't listening, as Ruby drank her milk and Rita tried to sit as still as possible, although this was not one of her strongest points.

"Today we are going to get organised. I'm going to go next door, with you because I can't leave you alone, and see if Amanda has a pram, and maybe a car seat. She said she's still got a lot of things from when she had her baby. Even if she just lets me borrow a few things. Then we'll try to get some furniture, but that won't be easy." Rita spoke softly to the baby, as if she could understand everything she was saying to her.

Although Rita was not up to going on a big shopping trip she knew that some things. She only really needed some baby clothes, a couple of toys, a few books, a pushchair, and a car seat. Rita's friend and neighbour, Amanda, had luckily stopped by the previous evening with a few gender neutral outfits and the Moses basket to get Rita through the night.

X

Rita, Amanda, and Ruby all came back to Rita's house with loads of items for Ruby. Amanda had found a baby carrier, a car seat, a pushchair frame that attached to the car seat, and a white noise machine that helped her son get to sleep when he was a newborn baby. Rita repaid Amanda by making her a cup of coffee before Amanda went back home.

As Ruby slept in the Moses basket Rita wrote a shopping list:

 _Bottles,_

 _Breast pads,_

 _Clothes for Ruby,_

 _Blankets,_

 _A pacifier,_

 _Baby books,_

 _Baby toys,_

 _A toy box,_

 _A baby bath,_

 _Food for me,_

Rita decided that this would be enough for now, knowing that most things she would be able to order online to get delivered, some which she probably wouldn't need for a while anyway, such as a cot. She was going to let Ruby sleep until she was ready to wake up before going shopping, not wanting to take a tired and upset baby into the city centre of Holby on her first real day of being a mum.

X

When Ruby woke up, almost 2 hours later, Rita fed her before placing her into the car seat, hoping that she would be warm enough without any blankets for the time being. It was a sunny day, but Rita knew that babies were more likely to get cold than older people.

"We'll buy blankets first. Then you'll be all snuggly and warm, and hopefully you'll be happy." Rita spoke to the child as she strapped the baby seat into the back of the car, behind the driver's seat. "Okay, I'm going to lock the car whilst I go inside to get the pushchair frame for when we get to town. I'll only be a minute, so try not to die whilst I'm gone."

When Rita returned to the car, Ruby was screaming in the back seat. Rita opened the boot and put the pram frame inside before opening the door next to Ruby. "Oh, so you're the kind of baby that hates being left alone?"

Ruby continued to cry until Rita lifted her out of the seat and held her close to her chest. "Oh, you are going to be a difficult one, aren't you?"

Unfortunately, the baby carrier that Rita had been given to strap the baby to her was only for children who were able to hold their heads up independently, so Rita decided that she would have to buy one that was suitable for newborns.

"So, shall we get back in the car and get this shopping trip over with, then." Rita placed Ruby gently back in the seat and stroked the top of Ruby's head before getting into the front of the car and driving into the city centre of Holby.

X

By the time Rita had managed to park in the city centre, which wasn't too difficult since it was a Monday, Ruby was asleep again and she struggled to get the car seat from the back of the car and onto the pushchair frame without waking Ruby. Eventually, with Ruby now awake since being disturbed by the movements, the family of two were ready to get on with the shopping.

Ruby didn't mind not being physically attached to her mum since she was able to see her mum from the pushchair now, rather than when Rita went into the house earlier on.

Rita and Ruby strolled through the streets of Holby city centre in order to find the shops that Rita believed would be the cheapest prices for the highest quality products.

First, Rita wanted to buy a blanket for Ruby so that she would keep a stable body temperature throughout the day. She decided to go to the newly built Mama's and Papa's shop to buy the blanket and some other essentials from her list.

The shop was quitter than Rita had ever seen it before, but mainly because it was the middle of a weekday, so it wasn't too cramped, which Rita appreciated. There were mothers with children dotted around, seemingly knowing exactly what they were doing, as Rita headed into the building.

She didn't know where to look first. Was a blanket classed as a baby essential? Probably. That's where she would look first. The baby essentials aisle was the busiest, although it was still relatively calm, and Rita decided to leave the pram at the end of the aisle as she went to look for any of the products she wanted to buy. Hoping Ruby wouldn't cry she slowly walked away from the pram and tried to find what she was looking for as quickly as possible.

With two blankets, 3 bottles, some vests to keep Ruby warm, and 3 different kinds of pacifiers, Rita walked back to the pram wondering how she would manage to carry everything. She walked towards the front of the shop again and dropped her items into a basket before picking it up and returning to the pushchair.

 _This is going to be difficult._ Rita's main thoughts were centred on how she was going to manage to carry everything. Some items she would get delivered to the house, and the car wasn't too far away so she could always return to the car to put bags in the boots between shops if it was necessary.

Rita's next job was to search for breast pads to keep her clothes from getting soaked if she happened to leak milk. These were rather difficult to locate in the shop, and by the time she had found them she had also picked up 2 toys, some books for Ruby, and a baby carrier for newborns.

"Would you look at that, Ruby, we've already got most of the things we came here for." Rita commented, hoping not to look ridiculous as she spoke to Ruby whilst she walked around the shop. "Although you still don't have any clothes and I still don't have any food. Other than that we need a toy box and a bath for you."

Ruby stared at her mother in response, as if in awe of how beautiful and special she was. The baby didn't understand much, but she somehow understood how much she loved her mother, and how loved she was in return.

"So the clothes here are kind of out of my price range, but I know that they actually have a selection of baby clothes in Morrison's, and maybe we can look in Primark as well, because they're pretty cheap – I buy most of my stuff there." Rita headed towards the checkouts with her basked close to overflowing with baby products.

X

Rita left the shop with 2 carrier bags and the pushchair, which wasn't easy for her. "Okay Ruby, so we already need to go back to the car to relieve mummy of all this weight, but I might be able to work out how to use the new carrier so that we don't need this pushchair when we come back.

X

It had taken Rita almost quarter of an hour to unpack the baby carrier and work out how to wear it correctly, by which time Ruby was asleep in the car seat.

"You pick your moments, don't you?" Rita commented as she slipped into the back seat of the car next to Ruby. "I'll let you sleep for a bit whilst I have a rest. Then we do need to get on with this, you know?"

X

By the time Rita arrived back home she had been out for almost 3 hours and she was exhausted. She left everything except for the car seat, which Ruby was once again sleeping in, in the car to be dealt with later on. She hadn't bought a lot of food, so she would need to go shopping again in a few days, but she would worry about that when the time came.

The moment Rita entered the house she felt like falling asleep, so she took Ruby out of the car seat, eliciting a grumpy noise from the child, and carried Ruby upstairs into the bedroom. Moving the pillow out of the way where Ruby would be sleeping, to ensure that she would not be in danger whilst they slept, she lay Ruby down next to her head and almost fell asleep. That was, until Ruby decided that she needed feeding and began to cry.

 **Sorry this hasn't been uploaded for a while, but I do really love this story and I hope that this long update makes up for the wait. I will be trying to update stories more often from now on, possibly on Fridays, but I'm not promising anything.**

 **Please leave a comment if you enjoyed and follow this story if you aren't already doing so.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It was 5 in the morning when Ruby woke Rita up, demanding a feed. She was now two weeks old and already appeared to be developing a personality of her own. Ruby still slept in the three-sided cot next to her mother's double bed, although most nights she ended up in the bed with Rita anyway.

"Good morning beautiful." Rita cooed, sitting up before bringing Ruby to her breast. "You know, I had a very weird dream." Rita spoke, having fallen into the habit of talking to Ruby; a lack of other people to talk to made Rita feel very lonely, so she was glad for the company of her daughter, even if Ruby understood nothing she ever said. Rita went on to explain her dream, where she had been reading a book all about her own life, but she was also on a desert island with only a talking iguana for company. "Anyway, it must be the hormone making me dream weird things, hey?"

"So, you're up very early baby." Rita brought her baby to her shoulder to burp her. "Well, we're not getting up, we can go back to bed. We need to go shopping today, actually."

Once Ruby had finished feeding and burping Rita tucked the newborn into her side as she lay back down going back to sleep until Ruby needed food again.

* * *

 _3 hours later_

It was just after half past 8 when Rita woke up, the sun shining brightly into her eyes through a crack between the curtains. She moved slightly, remembering that Ruby was sleeping next to her, and gently moved the baby to her cot before getting out of bed.

Rita made no noise as she crept downstairs, trying to avoid waking Ruby up for as long as possible, although she was overdue a feed.

Rita managed to eat half of her breakfast before she heard Ruby crying from the bedroom so she placed her coffee on the table and went upstairs.

"Hey baby. You must be hungry, you were meant to be fed 40 minutes ago." Rita commented, lifting Ruby out of the cot. "Well, you must've been very tired then."

Rita returned downstairs with the crying baby in her arms before she sat at the kitchen table and fed her daughter, who was instantly satisfied and silenced. "I guess I'll have to wait until you're done to eat my breakfast, or I might drop crumbs on you."

Once Ruby was fed Rita placed her in the baby swing, which instantly caused the infant to cry. "Hey, I've got to eat too, you know? You can't be held all of the time." Rita had the swing positioned so that she could gently rock Ruby with her feet, although it made no difference to the baby's mood, whilst she finished eating her breakfast and drinking her coffee. "You'll be alright."

After a few minutes Rita washed the dishes and took Ruby out of the swing. "Well, I can hold you most of the time, if it keeps you quiet." Rita cooed, upon noticing that Ruby only cried when she wasn't being held. "It'll make me a lot less lonely."

Rita then took Ruby upstairs so that the two of them could have a quick bath before getting dressed and starting the day.

* * *

Once Rita and Ruby were both dressed the pair got into the car and prepared to go shopping. Although the shop was only a 10 minute walk away, Rita was choosing to drive because she had no hope of getting a week's worth of shopping and a pushchair home by herself.

"Ready?" Rita asked rhetorically, as she pulled out of the driveway, which immediately made Ruby begin to cry. "You know, I really can't hold a baby and drive at the same time, it's neither safe or legal."

* * *

Once the pair arrived at the supermarket, which seemed to take longer than it did with Ruby in tears the whole time, Rita carried Ruby over to a trolley with a seat for newborns, padded it with a blanket, and secured her daughter into the seat before entering the shop.

"Right, let's do this then." Rita began shopping, not wanting to take a long time at all, and was very glad that the shop was quiet and mostly unpopulated, in case Ruby began to make a scene.

* * *

The majority of the shopping trip passed without incident, until Ruby began screaming about 5 minutes before Rita was at the checkout. In order to quieten the infant, she had to take Ruby out of the seat and hold her for a while, noticing that Ruby was hungry. "Okay, if we get this done quickly, I can feed you in the car before we leave, alright?"

Rita placed the baby back in the seat and finished the shopping before paying and quickly leaving, desperate to get back home.

Rita locked Ruby in the car and went to return the trolley, glad that the station was only 4 cars away from her car, but she was unable to shake the feeling that somebody was watching her. She fumbled with the trolley a little before successfully retrieving her pound coin and turned to see a figure staring right at her.

Her heart stopped.

She froze.

Mark.

She couldn't move, until she finally remembered how to use her legs and rushed back to her car, unlocking it and almost falling into the driver's seat.

Fear felt as though it was filling the car like a poisonous gas, threatening to suffocate her as she sat crying and shaking, unable to think clearly or even see straight.

He said he'd moved. He'd lied again. He was still here. He shouldn't be here. She should be free of him by now.

* * *

It was more than ten minutes later when Rita had calmed down enough to think clearly, Ruby screaming in the backseat as she had been since Rita slammed the car door.

Rita spoke to Ruby, despite knowing it would be ineffective. "Listen baby, I need to get home, I need to get out of here. We'll be okay, I promise. And I know you're starving, but we'll go home and call daddy, see if he will come and visit for a little while, hey?"

As Rita drove back in the direction of her house she saw Mark walking down the street and she wanted to kill him; she wanted it to be over. But she just kept driving.

* * *

When Rita arrived home she brought the car seat inside, to make it easier for herself, before bringing the bags of shopping in to the kitchen. Her first priority was to put all the fridge and freezer food away, to avoid it being spoiled, and then she needed to feed Ruby, which is when she would try to call Iain and ask him to come round, explaining what had happened at the supermarket earlier.

Once all the food that could spoil was away, Rita took Ruby out of the car seat and began to breastfeed her, silencing her for the first time in half an hour. Then she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts to find Iain's name, pressing the call button without hesitation.

He answered quickly and she hurriedly explained, without making much sense, what had happened that afternoon.

"Okay, don't worry; I'll be there soon Reets." Iain answered, trying to unjumble Rita's words in his head. "Just hang on." Rita could hear him shout to someone, probably a colleague as he hung up the phone, and she instantly felt guilty about pulling him from work, especially since they were still unsure where they stood with each other, but it was too late to call him back, since she had already worried him.

Rita sat and fed Ruby, then burped her, then continued to feed her until Iain arrived, looking worried, but calm.

"Reets, are you okay?" Iain asked, sitting beside her and Ruby, who was curious at the new person in the room.

"Well, yeah. I'm sorry I worried you, I was terrified. And I…I thought you might not believe me." It was difficult for Rita to admit this, because it meant that she was being forced to remember what she did to him, and how she had made him feel, which filled her with guilt.

Iain had to admit, if only to himself, that he doubted Rita as he drove to her house, but then he remembered how genuinely scared she sounded on the phone, and he knew that she had to be telling the truth.

"It's okay, I know you wouldn't do that…again." Iain reassured Rita, seeing fear in her eyes. He then took Ruby, who had finished feeding, and burped her over his shoulder.

"She's getting used to you, sort of." Rita smiled, watching Ruby as she considered whether or not she was happy with where she was, but deciding that she was pleased with the person holding her. "She's slowly getting used to you."

"Yeah, I suppose she is. I think she still prefers you though." Iain laughed as he finished burping the infant before cradling her in his arms.

* * *

When Ruby was in bed Rita made Iain another cup of coffee before he headed back to work, wanting to make up for the last hour of his shift that he had missed. The pair sat and laughed for a while before Iain left at around 8pm, and Rita had never been happier to have a friend like Iain.

 **This is a slightly longer chapter because there have been no updates in ages, and I'm sorry, but college is a lot for me at the moment and it's hard to cope with that alone, let alone regular fanfic updates on the side.**

 **This story will be ending soon, after a few more chapters, because I don't want to leave it unfinished if I can't upload anymore, and I have no real storyline for it anyway, just some fluffy chapters to (hopefully) make my lovely readers smile.**

 **Also, this, Losing Grace, and New Beginnings are my only stories that I will be continuing, at least for the foreseeable future, because it's going to be hard enough to update just those three, but I am so attached to them that I couldn't stop.**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I actually missed this story too much to discontinue it, so updates may be few and far between but they will be coming. I want to write numerous characters, and my other continuing stories are both Connie/Jacob centred so this story also a way for me to write numerous people.**

Ruby was now almost a year old and Rita was waiting for Iain to arrive at her house so that they could take their daughter to the zoo together. It was Iain's day off work so he had offered to take the family to the zoo for the day.

The young girl was sat on the living room floor playing with a small drum kit that was an early birthday present from her grandparents, who Rita had gotten back in touch with shortly after Ruby was born, whilst Rita packed a rucksack full of everything her and Ruby would need for the day.

"I bet you can't wait to see daddy, can you?" Rita cooed walking over to Ruby once the bag was packed, as Ruby got distracted from her toy and crawled towards her mum. "You've got to keep practicing your walking missy, unfortunately you can't crawl forever."

Just then the doorbell rang and Rita carried Ruby across the house to open the door, revealing Iain, which make Ruby squeal in delight.

Iain took the baby from Rita's arms as he stepped into the house, admiring the new child-safe blinds that had been installed a couple of days previously. "Nice blinds."

"Thank you, they're amazing, honestly. Zero choking hazard." Rita replied, giving Iain space to walk into the living room. "Sorry I haven't had much chance to tidy this morning."

"Don't worry about it, the messier it is the more fun Ruby must be having." Iain smirked, followed by Ruby cooing as if she understood.

"She's been very loud this morning, lots of energy that I'm sure she's dying to get out at the zoo." Rita replied, going into the kitchen where her rucksack was and picking up the foldable pushchair.

"Do you need any help with those?" Iain asked, getting his car keys out of his pocket.

"If I could just take the keys whilst you put her shoes and coat on. I've got to get her car seat out of my car as well." Rita replied, taking the offered keys and going outside.

Iain struggled with getting a very excited Ruby to sit down so that he could put her shoes on, but eventually he managed it. Just then Ruby crawled towards the front door, determined to go out with her dad despite not knowing where they were going.

"Ruby, baby, you've still got to put your coat on and wait for mummy to be ready." Iain called, following Ruby and picking her up so that she didn't get hit by the door.

When Rita arrived back in the house Ruby had her shoes and coat on and was ready to go. "Come on then missy. We're going to see some animals."

The family headed out of the door, once Rita had double-checked that she'd left nothing behind and she climbed into the passenger seat of Iain's car whilst he strapped Ruby in the back of the car. Once he was done Iain got in the driver's seat and the family of 4 headed off to the zoo.

X

By the time the family arrived at the zoo Ruby was restless in her car seat, eager to get out after feeling trapped in the car seat for a little too long.

"Do you want me to get the pram and the bag?" Iain asked as he undid his seatbelt.

"Yeah, thanks." Rita replied, getting herself and Ruby out of the car. "I'll have to carry her for a bit; she'll be too grumpy if we put her straight into the pram." Rita mentioned, watching Iain struggle to unfold the pram. "Here, why don't you hold her and I'll sort that out." Rita's lack of patience for Iain battling the inanimate object was greater than her entertainment at watching him by this point.

Iain took the baby and watched Rita unfold the pram in seconds, feeling smug as she looked over to Iain. "Alright, it's not as easy as you make it look y'know."

"I'll push this and you can carry her, if you like?" Rita offered, walking towards the entrance of the zoo.

X

Once inside the zoo Ruby looked amazed at the bright colours, large crowds, and open space. Rita was glad that she and Iain had made up enough to share these experiences with their daughter together.

"Ooooh." Ruby cooed in amazement, pointing to a giraffe in the distance.

"Yeah, that's brilliant isn't it?" Iain asked, watching the girl's face light up. "Let's start with the lions."

The family headed to their left where the large lion enclosure was holding 5 lions, including 3 cubs.

"That one's so cute rolling around; it's like a little kitten." Iain commented, acting like a child.

"I know, it makes me want to have a pet lion." Rita thought aloud. "I reckon I could fit a really small lion in my garden."

"Reets, a really small lion is basically just a house cat, so why not get one of those?" Iain questioned, not taking his eyes off the two cubs playing in the sun.

"That's normal and boring, and anyway they're not fierce so it wouldn't be able to guard my house when I'm not there." Rita tutted, as if the explanation was obvious, then giggling at Iain's facial expression.

"Whatever you say Rita."

X

Throughout the day the family saw monkeys, giraffes, tigers, llamas, and even a couple of snow leopards. Next up was the reptile house, which Iain had tried to avoid all day.

"So, shall we see the snakes next?" Rita asked cheerily, until she saw Iain's expression change. "Oh, are you afraid of snakes?"

"No…well, no…it's just that…"

"Iain, it's okay if you are, I'm not going to judge you." Rita smirked, trying not to laugh for Iain's sake. "I'll tell you what, if you go in and see the snakes, which will all be in tanks, then I'll pay for your ice-cream."

Iain agreed, pushing the pram towards the reptile house whilst Rita followed with Ruby in her arms.

"Hello, and welcome to petting hour. I'm Lisa and today I'll be showing you some different snakes, and then everyone is going to get the change to hold one." A crowd of around 4 children sat and watched the zoo worker talk whilst their parents, plus Rita, Iain, and Ruby, stood around the sides of the house, which looked like a large shed.

"We can come back later if you'd like to." Rita whispered, not wanting to push Iain too far, especially in front of a crowd.

"Nah it's fine." Iain replied unconvincingly.

"Okay, but if you want to leave at any point just let me know."

Once the crowd had been told about 6 different snakes that lived in the zoo, sizes ranging from shorter than a necklace to as tall as two people, the children and parents were going to get the chance to touch or hold a small milk snake.

Ruby looked very excited at the small animal; probably believing it to be a wriggly toy to play with, and even Iain appeared rather calm.

"I'll stay with her if you want to leave." Rita prodded, knowing that Iain had faced his fears more than he'd wanted already that day.

Again, Iain insisted that he was fine, but by the time the rest of the children had held or stroked the snake his fear was rising, the anticipation making it worse.

The woman, Lisa, walked over to Rita and Iain, smiling at Ruby. "Hello missy. Should daddy hold the snake whilst you stroke him?"

Rita was about to protest, until Iain agreed and took the snake in his hands.

"This is Milky Way." The woman introduced the snake as Iain held it closer to Ruby.

"This is Ruby. It's her first time at the zoo, actually." Rita said, holding Ruby's wrist to show her how to stroke the snake, and to try and make sure that the toddler didn't grab the snake. The young girl was confused at the texture of the snake beneath her finger tips but she was in awe at the same time.

Once they were finished with the snake the family of three left the reptile house.

"I'm proud of you, you know?" Rita smiled at Iain. "and you definitely deserve some ice-cream after that."

 **So I wanted this to be a little longer, basically just Iain having dinner with Rita and Ruby, but I've been writing this for more than a week now (or possible 2+ weeks) and it's 3 pages long ad I just wanted to update the story asap.**

 **As always, if you have any other story or chapter suggestions, let me know, and comment to let me know what you thought of this.**

 **Also, it is summer and I have 2 weeks left until I have nothing to do so hopefully I can update more often, but knowing me it probably won't be that often. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Christmas Eve, 2017_

Rita was placing the gifts she had gotten for Iain and Ruby under the Christmas tree in her living room. Ruby was 1 and a half now so she still didn't fully understand the concept of presents, and Rita guessed she wouldn't be able to unwrap them very well, so she'd used tissue paper to wrap her daughter's presents.

It was a little after lunchtime on Christmas Eve and Rita couldn't wait for her daughter to have her first real Christmas, since she had been too small to interact with anyone or anything the previous year.

Ruby had been growing used to the tree in the middle of the living room, and barely took notice of the colourful boxes and shapes underneath, but she was still curious as to why her mother insisted on these new decorations.

The following day Iain would come over at around 10 o'clock and exchange presents with Rita and Ruby before leaving to start a shift at 2pm, after he'd eaten lunch with the family. Rita and Iain had managed to find the perfect balance as friends and parents, as well as colleagues, over time since Ruby had been born.

"Mama." Said Ruby, from the floor at the other side of the room.

Rita turned to watch her daughter as she held onto the edge of the sofa and pulled herself up before letting go of the sofa. Rita smiled encouragingly, as her daughter had been standing alone for the past couple of months. Then she watched as Ruby did something Rita had never witnessed her do previously; she lifted a leg and put it back down in front of her, managing to take 3 tiny steps before falling onto her bum.

"Ruby!" Rita shouted excitedly, running over to the now-toddler and picking her up. "You're so clever."

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to teach Ruby to walk and playing with the toys she had piled up in the playroom. Rita thought she ought to donate the toys that she knew Ruby never used, especially since she would be getting twice as many at Christmas, but she pushed the thought to one side because she knew she wouldn't get it done with Ruby awake.

* * *

 _Christmas Day_

Ruby slept through the night and eventually Rita had to wake her up before Iain arrived.

"Daddy!" The child called excitedly, crawling quickly towards Iain the moment he stepped through the door.

"Hi Ruby. Hey Reets." Iain said, picking up the young girl and passing Rita a bottle of non-alcoholic wine. "I didn't want to show up without contributing to lunch, but I still don't know what you're making us."

"Well, you'll have to wait and see." Rita replied, taking the bottle into the kitchen. "Do you want a glass now?"

"Yeah, go on then." Iain replied, bouncing Ruby on his hip.

The 3 made their way into the living room, Iain dropping a big red sack on the floor besides the tree. "Who are you, Santa?" Rita quipped.

"You haven't opened anything without me, then." Iain motioned towards the pile of presents under the tree.

"We couldn't start the party without Santa. Anyway, she's only been awake about 10 minutes." Rita replied.

"Can sleep for England, just like her dad." Iain smirked.

Iain and Rita chatted for a bit until Iain announced that it was definitely present time. Iain had a stack of presents for Rita, and another for Ruby, and he pulled each neatly wrapped shape out one at a time. Each family member unwrapped their presents, Rita helping Ruby when she tried to open her presents from Iain.

"Lunch will be about half an hour, I'm just putting it in the oven now." Rita said, getting up to leave the room. When she returned she told Iain that Ruby had something to show him.

Rita then helped Ruby to her feet and made sure she was stable before shuffling backwards less than a meter. "Come on the baby girl."

Slowly Ruby took a few steps, reaching out to her mother, as Iain watched in awe. The young girl made it over to Rita just before she fell.

"Wow! That was amazing Ruby." Iain was very excited, and so was Rita. Ruby looked incredibly proud of herself, and she loved all the attention and praise that she received every time she walked.

* * *

Once the family had finished their lunch of Rita's homemade lasagna it was time for Iain to leave for work, offering to work some of Christmas Day so that Sam could have some time off as well.

"Thank you so much for a wonderful morning you two, and well done for all that walking Ruby, keep it up." Iain said, taking his bag and coat. "I'll see you both in the new year."

 **So this is the last chapter, since I have nowhere else to go with the story and I never intended for it to be long anyway. I just want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and favourited this story along the way. I appreciate all of you.**

 **I wrote this on Halloween, despite it being a Christmas story, but my wi-fi was down and I'm trying to stick to a new timetable so I've been really busy.**

 **Also, if any of you follow Losing Grace I'm sorry to say that I have stopped writing that for good now because, even though I had more chapter ideas, I'm not enjoying writing it anymore.**


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